(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 Jan 2026	9.4	2.421 AU	1.558 AU	10h53m	-01°50'	143.4°	14.0°
Opposition	27 Feb 2026	8.9	2.491 AU	1.508 AU	10h28m	-00°04'	171.0°	3.6°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302133
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3865290
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51881
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.49459
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.48204
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 61.72502
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.10082
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12403
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.69            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   10 53 59.4   -01 50 13     1.558    2.421  143.4   14.0   304    9.4 
2026-01-30 01:07 UT   10 53 57.5   -01 50 10     1.557    2.421  143.5   14.0   304    9.4 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   10 53 19.0   -01 49 05     1.553    2.424  144.6   13.6   304    9.3 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   10 52 37.3   -01 47 45     1.548    2.426  145.7   13.2   305    9.3 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   10 51 54.1   -01 46 11     1.543    2.429  146.8   12.8   306    9.3 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   10 51 09.5   -01 44 25     1.539    2.431  148.0   12.4   306    9.3 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   10 50 23.6   -01 42 27     1.534    2.434  149.1   12.0   307    9.3 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   10 49 36.3   -01 40 16     1.530    2.436  150.3   11.6   308    9.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   10 48 47.9   -01 37 53     1.527    2.439  151.4   11.2   308    9.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   10 47 58.2   -01 35 17     1.523    2.441  152.6   10.7   309    9.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   10 47 07.4   -01 32 30     1.520    2.444  153.7   10.3   310    9.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   10 46 15.5   -01 29 31     1.517    2.446  154.9    9.9   311    9.2 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   10 45 22.6   -01 26 20     1.514    2.449  156.0    9.4   312    9.1 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   10 44 28.7   -01 22 57     1.511    2.451  157.2    9.0   314    9.1 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   10 43 33.9   -01 19 23     1.509    2.454  158.3    8.6   315    9.1 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   10 42 38.2   -01 15 39     1.507    2.456  159.4    8.1   316    9.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   10 41 41.8   -01 11 43     1.505    2.458  160.5    7.7   318    9.1 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   10 40 44.7   -01 07 38     1.504    2.461  161.6    7.3   320    9.1 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   10 39 46.9   -01 03 22     1.503    2.463  162.7    6.8   322    9.0 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   10 38 48.6   +00 58 57     1.502    2.466  163.8    6.4   324    9.0 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   10 37 49.7   +00 54 22     1.501    2.468  164.8    6.0   327    9.0 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   10 36 50.5   +00 49 38     1.501    2.471  165.8    5.6   330    9.0 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   10 35 50.9   +00 44 46     1.500    2.473  166.7    5.3   334    9.0 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   10 34 51.1   +00 39 46     1.501    2.476  167.6    4.9   338    8.9 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   10 33 51.1   +00 34 39     1.501    2.478  168.5    4.6   342    8.9 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   10 32 51.0   +00 29 24     1.502    2.481  169.2    4.3   348    8.9 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   10 31 50.9   +00 24 02     1.503    2.483  169.9    4.0   354    8.9 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   10 30 50.8   +00 18 35     1.504    2.485  170.4    3.8     1    8.9 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   10 29 50.9   +00 13 01     1.506    2.488  170.8    3.7     8    8.9 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   10 28 51.2   +00 07 22     1.507    2.490  171.0    3.6    16    8.9 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   10 27 51.8   +00 01 39     1.509    2.493  171.0    3.6    24    8.9 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   10 26 52.7   +00 04 09     1.512    2.495  170.9    3.6    32    8.9 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.